Method of treating disintegrated slate mixture for the manufacture of articles.



1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM CHARLES BROUGI-ITON, OF GLOUCESTER, ENGLAND.

METHOD OF TREATING DISINTEGRATED SLATE MIXTURE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES.

srncrrrca'rro v forming part of Letters Patent No. 681,190, dated. Augus 2 1901- Application filed March 3, 1900. Serial No. 7,235. (No specimens.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM CHARLES ,1] BROUGHTON, hydraulic machinist, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, re-

, siding at 151 Tredworth road, Gloucester,

1 England, have invented certain new and user111 Improvements in the Method of Treating aDisintegrated Slate Mixture for the Manufacture of Useful and Ornamental Articles, of

which the following is a specification.

I This invention relates to a new or improved a method of treating a mixture of disintegrated I slate by impregnating the same with steam I I andsubseq molding Pressing the Said mixture by hydraulic pressure into the variousforms or designs required for useful or ornamental purposes, such as for mantle= pieces, staircases, balusters, and the like. I In carrying out my improved process ac- 1 i cording to this invention I proceed as follows: i The waste or scrap slate is reduced to a fine i I powder.

To this is added ten per cent, by

I I weight, or thereabout of whiting and the same ,quantity of sand, or the whiting and sand may be added before the slate is powder. The

I mixture is then passed through a disinte- I grator, and after disintegration it is placed in .1 a. .steam kettle, sufficient varnish being 5 I added to make it slightly moist.

The whole is then thoroughly impregnated with steam ,until it contains suificient moisture to hold or: bind together the said substances when l squeezed in the hand. The mixture is then I transferred to a mold of the desired pattern and subjected to a pressure of about fifty tons.

Shellac, copal, or black varnishes are equally advantageous in the manufacture of the mix- 3 ture, and the steam-kettle as used in the i l manufacture of feeding-cake is the most suitable for the purpose. When sufficiently 1 .1 pressed, the article so formed is taken from I the mold and placed in a storeroom or chamber heated to a temperature ofabout 200 Fahrenheit, Where it is left until thoroughly mum and the time occupied in drying is considerably shortened, the whiting being of a much more binding nature than slate-dust, and the sand by reason of its fiinty nature separating the particles and acting as a foundation for the softer and more absorbent material to cling to.

The process of steaming causes the binding material to become thoroughly amalgamated with the solid substances, the heated mois turedissolving it in a manner impossible with the dry process and the pressed article leav ing the mold in a cleaner and more perfect form, owing to the absence of imperfectly amalgamated material which is invariably present in the dry method of mixing.

Having now fully described the nature of my said invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is g The improved process of treating powdered slate comprising the combination therewith of a disintegrated mixture of whiting and sand, and a suitable varnish, the Whole be ing impregnated with steam and afterward pressed to the required shape and heated,- substantially as described and for the pur poses set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM CHARLES BROUGH'IO'N; Witnesses:

J. H, J ONES, F. DEVERELL. 

